In an office in St Petersburg, Dmitry Nechiporenko is trying to describe the
epiphany he had as a 19-year-old. “It was Bradford against Tottenham in
1999,” he recalls. “I saw Stuart McCall score a last-minute goal and, well,
after that, it’s difficult to explain.”

It is, but let’s give it a try. Nechiporenko is the only Bradford City fan in
St Petersburg. Not a fan in the loose sense that enables Manchester United
to claim “659 million followers worldwide”, but a truly committed supporter.

He has Zenit, conquerors of Liverpool in the Europa League this week, on his
doorstep and